Blog

Humanization of Brands

Consumers prefer brands they connect with on a personal level. One way to connect is making a brand feel more humanlike. Not tricking consumers into thinking a brand is actually a person (unless it is a person), but applying human characteristics for the sake of sharing benefits with those who appreciate them most. A well-crafted brand personality provides a guide for all communications to deliver compelling, emotionally-charged messages. Logos, colors, taglines, and other trademarked assets provide consistent cues for a brand. Consistency is necessary when developing trust; however, flexibility allows messages to be adapted to every application, giving the…

Great Creative Advertising

02/24/201602/25/2016 Categories: Advertising · Brand Strategy · Creative StrategyLeave a comment

What makes some creative advertising great? Simplicity, clarity, aesthetics? In their text, Creative Strategy in Advertising, Bonnie Drewniany and A. Jerome Jewler say that, “Creative ads make a relevant connection between the brand and its target audience and present a selling idea in an unexpected way.” There are three important components, but it’s the unexpected element that sets truly great ads apart from the others. “Creative ads make a relevant connection between the brand and its target audience and present a selling idea in an unexpected way.” —Drewniany & Jewler Effectively connecting any brand to its target audience requires a…

Identity & Perceptions

02/19/201602/19/2016 Categories: Brand Strategy · IdentityLeave a comment

Few things are more exciting than building a new identity or refreshing an existing one. It becomes a part of all advertising and communications—a visual representation of the brand. Excellence in this area is not measured by how cool the logo looks or how clever the tagline reads. None of this matters if the target audience gets a wrong impression. This is particularly bad if it’s a first impression. A successful identity helps audience members form perceptions that are expected and favorable, leading to trust and advocacy for the brand. “You can turn a page and, before you really comprehend…

Getting It Done

10/24/201110/24/2011 Categories: Digital StorytellingTags: Concept Papers · Paper Edit · StorytellingLeave a comment

This post is a final submission of work for the IMC 634 course. It includes the full concept paper and paper edit for my project—an interview-driven recruitment video for the Junior League of Sioux City (JLSC). It is quite similar to the post from last week, but has been edited and hopefully improved. Again, the paper edit provides direction for final editing of interview clips and B-roll footage as well as use of music to accompany the film. The end result should be a piece that is between three and four minutes in length with sufficient room for pauses and…

Creative Approach & First Draft

10/17/201110/18/2011 Categories: Digital StorytellingTags: Creative Approach · Non-fiction · StorytellingLeave a comment

The following creative approach completes the concept paper posted three weeks ago. It was deliberately left off as I pondered the storytelling, direction, and format of my film. Now that I have a better understanding of my client’s needs, their brand and marketing objectives, I have outlined the approach below. Following the creative approach is a first draft of my paper edit that will aid in production of a recruitment video for Junior League of Sioux City (JLSC). Creative Approach This documentary-style video will feature women involved with JLSC speaking in their own words about how the league makes Sioux…

The Paper Edit

10/10/201110/10/2011 Categories: Digital StorytellingTags: Paper Edit · StorytellingLeave a comment

The following paper edit is taken from a transcribed interview of two Army captains, Captain Y and Captain Z. (Note: page numbers indicate location in the transcript, since it wasn’t time stamped.) The goal is to generate approximately three minutes of video from a seven-page transcript, resulting in a training module that addresses these content points: 1. Soldiers often pride themselves on their ability to take care of problems on their own. But it doesn’t always work. 2. That’s when the leader needs to step in. Being a leader means caring for other soldiers, being aware of the stresses they’re…

Reverse Engineered Scripts

10/03/201105/07/2013 Categories: Digital StorytellingTags: Commercials · Shooting Script · Storytelling3 Comments

This post is an exercise in writing shooting scripts. The objective is to look at two different 30-second commercials and reverse engineer them, resulting in shooting scripts that would be used by directors, actors, and production workers to deliver an end product representative of the story or vision. The first commercial is about a first time father who, upon seeing his newborn child in the hospital nursery, is open to the wisdom of buying life insurance. This story is told in eight shots. The second commercial is a bit more complex. In this one Nationwide uses 15 shots to tell…

Partial Concept Papers

09/26/201109/27/2011 Categories: Digital StorytellingTags: Concept Papers · StorytellingLeave a comment

JUNIOR LEAGUE OF SIOUX CITY Focus Junior League is a volunteer organization of women whose mission is to improve the community around them while developing their own leadership and practical skills. The Junior League of Sioux City (JLSC) is a local chapter that has developed and sustained a thrift store, called the Junior League Discovery Shop, which provides affordable clothing and merchandise for underprivileged residents. Proceeds from the Discovery Shop are the primary source of funds for JLSC projects. Junior League’s international mission is “to address community needs through the training and education of volunteers”. Each local chapter has authority…

Potential Clients – IMC634 Project

09/19/201109/19/2011 Categories: UncategorizedLeave a comment

Siouxland Community Christian School (SCCS) SCCS is a private school for Kindergarten through 12th grade. The mission is “to assist parents in raising godly children by providing academic excellence in a Christ-honoring environment.” Strengths include small class sizes, multi-generational family involvement (staff and students), and higher than average test scores. Weaknesses include limitations in budget, activities, and marketing; as well as sports related attrition. SCCS offers an affordable tuition. Those most likely to send children to SCCS are families desiring an academic environment that won’t compromise values. The biggest challenges involve misconceptions about Christian education and weak exposure in…

Find the Songbird—Apple’s ‘Get a Mac’ Campaign

09/12/201109/13/2011 Categories: Digital StorytellingTags: Central Character · Psychographics · Songbird · Storytelling · Target AudienceLeave a comment

The concept of marketers as storytellers involves telling a story with the audience as a central character. The goal is to send them on an emotional journey, from a point of objection or indifference to the point of purchase or interest. In order for the target audience to be portrayed as a central character in marketing campaigns, marketers need to know them inside out. Demographics play an important role in defining most audiences, however, psychographics must be addressed for the audience to feel understood—to see themselves as that central character. A great storyteller will use something complex and dynamic about…

BRANDTALK

brand-focused creative